


my love, come lean on me

by lightinthedarkness



Category: Tales of Berseria
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Princess Bride AU, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:02:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25996441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightinthedarkness/pseuds/lightinthedarkness
Summary: "For three years Velvet was numb, her heart little more than an organ."Written for Eivel Week 2020 Day 4: Treasure
Relationships: Velvet Crowe/Eizen, Velvet Crowe/Oscar Dragonia but like....not really
Kudos: 15
Collections: Eivel Week 2020 Collection





	my love, come lean on me

Long ago, before there were tales of daring knights and beautiful damsels, there was but a simple tale with three key facts. 

There was a boy. 

There was a girl.

And they were in love.

The boy, Eizen, and the girl, Velvet, had known each other for most of their lives working on Velvet’s family farm. The two’s common ground quickly turned into attraction, which then blossomed into a fiery passion and romance.

They were a happy mishmash of a family, but where they were rich in love they lacked in funds and food on the table. Eizen was all too aware of this, and made the decision to find a fortune for his family.

“You don’t have to do this…” Velvet pushed back her sobs.

Eizen cupped her cheeks with his hands and brushed away her tears, “I’ll be back before you even know I’m gone.” and he kissed her before leaving on the ship.

Weeks later, Velvet received word that Eizen’s ship had been attacked by Van Aifread, a ruthless pirate known for his treachery across the seas.

He was also known for never leaving survivors.

~~~

For three years Velvet was numb, her heart little more than an organ. Though she tried to move on, sadness, anger, resentment, and despair hung over the house like a dark veil.

Which is what brought Velvet to Oscar Dragonia’s party. He was an acquaintance of her estranged brother-in-law, but that didn’t make the invitation feel any less odd, or her appearance any less awkward.

“It feels like a waste, for such a beautiful woman to be on the sidelines,” the voice snapped Velvet from her daze as she turned to the source, Oscar Dragonia himself, “May I interest you in a drink? Or maybe a dance?”

She held the tip of her fan close to her mouth as she looked over the man. He appeared relaxed, his blonde hair looking both frazzled and put together at the same time.

“Thank you but I’m fine.” she tried to look away, yet he moved in front of her.

“Your eyes tell me a different story.” he whispered to her.

“I simply feel out of place here, that’s all.” She wanted nothing more than to hide from the crowd, to especially hide from him. 

“What if that were to change?” There was a soft smile on his face, “You may not be aware of this, but I’m in need of a wife.”

“I’m not interes-”

“I do not ask for your heart, for I can tell it is already taken…may I ask what happened to him?”

A pause. Velvet played with her fan for several moments, “Van Aifread killed him.”

His eyes widened at her answer before softening once more, his smile widening into a grin, “Then I would like to make a proposition,” he kneeled before her, taking her hand in his, “Become my wife, and I make you this vow, on our wedding day you will see Aifread’s head on a pike.” he pulled her hand to his lips, gracing it with a soft kiss. 

She froze at his offer. Her mind shifted to memories of her love, of the house that now only mocked her loneliness. Oscar was right, her heart was no longer available, even to her. 

All that remained was a burning hatred for the man who took everything from her. 

“You have a deal, Lord Dragonia.” she gently took her hand back and curtsied.

~~~

It was a fairly good day for sailing, Velvet thought, with the wind blowing in her hair and the sun shining on her face. She stood on the quarterdeck of her fiance’s ship, which was set to take them to Midgand for their wedding.

“Are you finding everything well, miss?” Velvet turned to see Teresa, Oscar’s sister and advisor.

“I am, thank you.” She answered. Velvet was surprised by the sudden politeness, as Teresa had hardly kept her disdain for Velvet a secret. She would only let up when her brother was around, but even then Velvet could feel disgust and resentment emanating from the other woman. 

The sudden rocking of the ship halted her thoughts. She grabbed the rail to steady herself as a cannonball barely missed her and flung into the ship.

“We’re under attack!” A member of the crew yelled. 

“Follow me!” Teresa grabbed Velvet’s hand and rushed her into the cabins with instructions to stay put, despite Velvet’s protests. 

Panic rose within her as the sound of sailors and pirates inched closer to her. She needed to protect herself, but her favorite gauntlet was back at her old home, a reminder of her old life. 

A quick glance of the room and all she had at her disposal was a mirror, but it would do. She smashed it against the wall and pulled from it the largest shard. It was better than nothing.

Or so she thought until something pressed into her back.

“Now what’s a lovely lady like you doing all by herself?” Even amongst the sounds of chaos outside, the man’s voice rang clear in her ears. Velvet made sure to hide the mirror shard amongst her clothing.

“Who’s asking?”

A scoff and Velvet was turned around to face her assailant, a man with long white hair. His sword was still dangerously close, “Responding to a question with another question… How rude. You wouldn’t happen to be Velvet Crowe, would you?”

“Who wants to know?”

“And she does it again, fine fine.” He raised his free hand in the air. “Listen, I don’t know whatcha did, but Aifread really wants a word with you.” 

Time stopped at the name. Velvet’s body felt so tight that a single breath would break her. Deep breath. Deep breath.

She narrowed her gaze at the pirate. “Take me to him.”

The pirate raised an eyebrow, “Wait, seriously? No screaming? No trying to punch me?”

“Take me to him.” Velvet’s voice was cold steel, her mind free of all but one thing...revenge.

Before she knew it, Velvet was lightly tied up and escorted out of the room. The pirate weaved her through the ongoing battle on board until they reached the plank that connected the ships. 

~~~  
Velvet was lead across the plank to the other ship, her captor threading her through more of his crew.

They stopped in the middle of the deck as other pirates crowded around them. Velvet cast a quick glance to the sea, relieved at the sight of Lord Dragonia’s boat shrinking into the horizon.

Footsteps came from below the deck. She turned towards the source, as did the other pirates.

The man towered over her with a commanding presence, his figure entirely covered in black. Though Velvet was taller than the average woman, it was hard not to feel small around the mystery man. The other pirates turned to him as well.

The pirate that captured her stood in front of her, “Got her just like you asked,” he told the man.

“Despite being a noble’s ship, they weren’t heavily armed,” Another pirate, one with long dark hair, commented. 

The man only nodded, “Good job,” came from his low voice, while his eyes never left Velvet’s gaze, “You can untie her now. Benwick says we’re a far enough distance.”

“Still don’t know why you wanted us to capture her,” the long haired pirate commented. “You normally don’t take prisoners.”

A scoff. “I have my reasons, Rokurou.” 

“Whatever you say, Aifread.”

Aifread?

“Aifread…” The name spilled from Velvet’s lips, a poison on her mind and soul.

He turned to her, a questioning look in his deep blue eyes. “Aye, I am Van Aifread.”

No more words were exchanged as Velvet rushed the man, shard in hand.

“Aifread!” She roared as she lunge, pressing the shard against his throat. Aifread’s eyes went wide, but he didn’t flinch. The rest of the crew did nothing, either too shocked at the idea of this woman attacking their captain, or too amused.

“Three years ago,” Velvet hissed through her teeth, “you attacked a ship heading for Southgand.” 

“Aye, but you’ll have to be more specific.” Circumstances aside, he remained awfully calm. “I’ve plundered a lot of ships that go to Southgand.”

“Quiet!” Her hand shook and her grip tightened on the mirror shard, her blood dripping against the blade, “On that ship, you killed a man named Eizen.”

Aifread raised an eyebrow. “The name rings a bell.” He paused and tapped a finger to his masked temple. “Ahhh, now I remember: the lad begged for his life, prattling off about how he had someone waiting for him.” He started directly into Velvet’s eyes. “Though now I think I did him a favor.”

He shoved Velvet’s arm away, and blocked her other hand when she swiped at him. He pinned her hands to her sides, his grip biting into her wristsWho would want to come home only to see your lover in the arms of another man?” Aifread muttered darkly. “To see the one you pledged your love to throw it away?”

Velvet’s blood boiled. She lunged her body against Aifread, breaking free of his grip, “Like hell I threw it away!” Tears stung at her eyes, her blood was caking around the edges of the mirror shard. She didn’t care. “Everyday I’ve lived with the hole you tore in my heart, where you took someone I treasured. I’ve waited for this day, Aifread, the day you pay back my pain with your life!” 

She launched another attack against him, aiming for anywhere that would do the most damage.

While Aifread managed to avoid the shard, he was unable to avoid her hand reaching out and yanking the cloth around his face and eyes.

Amidst the black cloth were golden locks, even his blue eyes seemed to lighten as the cloth fell to the floor, followed by the clank of the mirror shard.

Velvet froze, her blood dripping slowly to the floor and her mind a swirling vortex of questions and confusion, as the eyes of her lost love, Eizen, stared back at her.

~~~

“...And despite threatening to kill me every night, Aifread took me on as an apprentice and eventually let me take control of the ship before leaving. Zaveid, the one that was with you, is the only one of the crew that knows I’m not the original Aifread.” Eizen swirled the bourbon in his glass. He looked up, only to see Velvet staring at the wall of his private quarters. “Can you at least look my way?” Eizen asked her.

Silence filled the room for several long moments, only for Velvet to ask, “Why didn’t you send word? Send something to let me know you were okay?”

He shrugged. “Aifread didn’t want word that he had actually taken a prisoner, or that he was retiring, because then the name of Van Aifread would be sullied.But since I took control of the ship, I’ve been trying to find you. When I received a tip about your upcoming wedding and that Lord Dragonia would be transporting you to his estate… I saw my opportunity.”

“A tip? No one knew of the trip save for the...crew…” Velvet’s voice trailed off in thought. “Who gave you the tip?”

He raised an eyebrow at her question. “I never got a name. I just know it was a woman.”

Her eyes widened. There was only one woman on Lord Dragonia’s crew…

“She’s trying to kill me.” The statement was more matter-of-fact than of shock.

“Wait, who-”

“Teresa...Oscar’s sister. I think she was the one who gave you the tip… She probably expected you to kill me…” She smirked at the realization. “She’d rather see me at the bottom of the ocean than in the arms of her precious brother.”

He scoffed at the comment and took a swig of his drink before standing up and going towards the bed and grabbing something from underneath it, “Well, her plan backfired and gave me another member for my crew.” He turned back to her, holding the gauntlet in his hands. “That is...if you’ll accept my offer.”

Her gaze went from the gauntlet back to him, “You know...I would love you if you were wealthy or if you were penniless…” She stared at him for several moments, her fingers playing with the skirt of her ruined dress, “All I want Eizen...is to grow old with you.”

She rose from her seat and approached him, her hands now over the gauntlet, “But we’re not old just yet, are we?” she asked, looking him square in the eyes with a devilish smirk.

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when you wanna mix The Princess Bride, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Scarlet Pimpernel, and just the general Aesthetic of these series. I'm a bit tempted to do something else in this AU, but that'll be for a later time after this week. Title comes from the Scarlet Pimpernel Soundtrack!


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